MSC NAPOLI Salvage and Cleanup Continues

Published Mar 1, 2007 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

The salvage operation for the grounded container ship MSC NAPLOI is proceeding at a steady pace and the UK Department for Transport has confirmed that, as of Sunday evening, the final deck containers have been removed. About 853 containers in all have so far been removed from the vessel. Containers stowed in lower holds will be removed next, but because this was expected to be a much slower operation, no timetable was given for the expected completion date of this part of the salvage. All of the heavy fuel oil has been removed from the vessel’s bunker tanks and the vessel’s position and condition remains unchanged.

The clean up operation at Branscombe Beach is continuing. A total of 58 containers, another 160 tons of steel scrap and still other waste material have all been removed from beaches. At least 114 containers are thought to have been lost over the side when the vessel was grounded. With the complete removal of heavy fuel oil from the vessel, less unreachable residues, the danger of a major pollution incident is thought to have passed.

The MSC NAPOLI, a UK registered vessel, ran into trouble in heavy weather on the French side of the English channel, 40 miles off Cornwall. After the vessel’s master made the decision to abandon the ship, all crewmembers were successfully rescued by UK Royal Navy helicopter. Eventually, the vessel was intentionally run aground on January 20th to prevent an even worse disaster.

The distressed vessel ended up losing as many as 114 containers into the sea near Sidmouth, Devon. Risk assessments were carried out in an effort to ensure that the vessel remained whole and in a sheltered location. Registered in London, the 16-year-old vessel was reported to have last been inspected by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in May 2005, when officials said it met safety standards. Ashore, large numbers of local residents and scavengers pilfered cargo from the containers stranded on the beach, despite the best efforts of local authorities to limit such activities.